Workers' Comp: What Injuries Are Covered?

Workers' compensation, known more commonly as "workers' comp" or "workmans' comp," provides a system by which employees and their families can submit claims for injuries, illness, and even a death that is connected to their employment.

Some of the most common forms of work-related injuries are those caused by repetitive motion, including:

Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs),

Cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), and

Repeated motion injuries (RMIs).

Repetitive motion injuries which are caused by or aggravated due to working conditions will likely be covered by worker's comp.

Many former professional athletes have successfully filed workers' comp claims for these types of cumulative trauma injuries, ranging from serious head injuries to joint trauma.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California, which has been host to claims by veteran athletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is poised to tighten its workers' comp laws to make it harder for athletes to recover for long-past injuries.

Occupational Illness

Some jobs, due to their high-stress or dangerous environment, have illnesses associated with them, like mesothelioma (in the asbestos industry) or black lung (commonly affecting coal miners).

These diseases are often covered by worker's comp as long as the disease is diagnosed and documented.

Death on the Job

Relatives of a worker who dies as a result of his work (i.e., is either killed on the job or dies from a work-related injury or illness) can potentially collect workers' comp. This saves a worker's dependents from having to file a wrongful death suit against the employer.